Week Six - Day Four: All-Powerful

Let’s meditate a little more on the power of God this morning. His power should be understood through at least three lenses.

First of all, God’s power should be understood by considering creation. Look at Psalm 89:9, 11-13.

Psalm 89:9, 11-13

(9) You rule over the surging sea;
      when its waves mount up, you still them.

(11) The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
      you founded the world and all that is in it.

(12) You created the north and the south;
      Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.

(13) Your arm is endued with power;
      your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

Whenever you and I create something, we use tools and material; God brings something out of nothing. It is understandable (and spiritually spot on) that the Biblical writers always see this display of God’s power as also implying His ownership. “The heavens are yours; and yours also the earth.” Why? Because He created them by His power!

Secondly, God’s power should be understood through His preservation of all things. Listen how this common theme presents itself – and this is just a representative sampling. (1) “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast!” (2) “Praise the Lord, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved out lives and kept our feet from slipping.” (3) “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?” (Psalm 36:5-6; Psalm 66:8-9; Job 38:8-11)

It is worth contemplating where we would be without God’s preservation.

Thirdly, God’s power should be understood through His execution of all that He plans and wills. “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases Him.” (Psalm 115:3) We will have much more to say about this next week when we discuss God’s sovereignty. For now, let’s spend some minutes enjoying the application of our understanding of God’s power to our lives.

Before You Start Your Day

1. Before we start our day, let’s consider what this means for us.
   1. Consider God’s power in creation. As a display of His power, God created all that is … including us. No, correct that … especially us. He created us in His image. I like songwriter David Crowder’s take on this. The italics are mine.

      The day is brighter here with You
      The night is lighter than its hue
      Would lead me to believe
      Which leads me to believe

      You make everything glorious, You make everything glorious
      You make everything glorious
      And I am Yours, what does that make me?

      My eyes are small but they have seen
      the beauty of enormous things
      Which leads me to believe
      there's light enough to see that

      You make everything glorious, You make everything glorious
      You make everything glorious
      And I am Yours, what does that make me?

   2. Consider God’s power in preservation. Moses in his final sermon to his fellows (the book of Deuteronomy) reminds them that in all of their travels and trials, God was with them sustaining them. They dare not forget that, he sermonizes. “Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years … So, when you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and decrees that I am giving you this day.” (Deuteronomy 8:4, 10-11)
   3. Finally, consider God’s power in execution. The Apostle Paul makes a very comforting declaration to a group of his disciples in Philippi. It has often been a source of strength and comfort for me. In difficult times, it has reminded me that this time will pass and a greater work is afoot. Here it is: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) Awesome! But this declaration is meaningless unless God has the power to execute. Fortunately for us, He does!
2. Begin your day with a prayer of praise and thanks! Praise God that He is all-powerful. Thank Him that His power created you, sustains you and works good for you!